1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to containers for special articles, and more particularly to a container for shipping, transporting and dispensing heavy cylindrically shaped objects, such as beer barrels.
2. Description of the Prior Art
For many years, beer barrels were delivered by providing a means to roll the barrel upon a flat bed truck such that they could be stacked in a single layer and transported. Upon reaching the destination, it was again rolled off the truck and delivered to the purchaser.
More recently, however, in order to reduce the delivery cost, beer barrels are palletized for transportation purposes. They are received on pallets at the wholesaler and transported from the wholesaler's warehouse by use of a delivery truck which may have as many as 80 palletized barrels in three-high stacks. Generally, each pallet contains four one-half barrels of beer. A hydraulic lift is used to load the palletized barrels onto a delivery vehicle. The truck itself is provided with a bumper pad which is used to unload the barrels at their final destination.
The bumper pad is generally rubber, although, there are some rope pads used today. When the barrel beer reaches its final destination, a driver or his helper must unload the barrels by reaching up to the top layer of the loaded palletized barrels and tip over a barrel so that it falls onto the rubber pad of the vehicle. Often times, due to lack of experience, loss of grip or lack of space, the barrel, as it is dropped, misses the rubber pad and hits either the truck or the ground in the vicinity of the truck. This often results in damage to the truck as well as damage to the barrel itself. Basically, the most accepted way of unloading the barrel is to clear the area and drop them onto the rubber pad of the vehicle. Naturally, after the first layer of palletized beer barrels are unloaded, the procedure of unloading the truck is somewhat easier in that due to the availability of space, the driver or helper handling the barrels has more room to direct the barrel onto the rubber or rope pad that is a part of the truck.
Naturally, it is readily understood that the method of handling these barrels is not only dangerous to the driver and helper but also results in a higher cost of delivery since the damaged aluminum barrels must be repaired and in cases where stainless steel barrels are used, generally, these are not repairable. Also, regardless of the method of dispensing the barrels from the truck, two men are required in order to control the removal of the barrels from the vehicle to a manageable position on the floor. It is easily understood that the method used for unloading the truck does not provide for easy, efficient, safe and rapid dispensing of the individual barrels from the pallets.